NO air coming out of A/C vents! - Honda Prelude Forum

H23Lude · 04-19-2002, 12:49 PM

Ok, i dont know whats wrong with my car. There is no air coming out of my A/C vents.

A few days ago..i push the defroster button and it worked fine. Now I push the button to switch the air back to normal but NO air comes out!!! I turn on my AC and the air only comes out of the vents next the windsheild. NO air comes out of the center vents but air comes the sides vents on door. I try pushing all the other buttons but still same thing. Its like it's stuck on defrost. I dont know...its weird. I guess its something electrical maybe. Do any of you guys have this problem?

fourthgeneration · 04-19-2002, 01:10 PM

This has never happened to me before but I have heard that the "tubes" that connect to the vents kind of under the dash, get knocked out of place easily. So stick your hand under/in back of your dash and check. That is most likely it...

red92s · 04-19-2002, 01:13 PM

can you hear the blower blowing? are all the vents without air?

JDM Lude · 04-19-2002, 01:20 PM

there was a common problem with the 3rd gens. the little butterfly valves inside the ducts get stuck in a certain position. you have to take it apart to free them up.

H23Lude · 04-19-2002, 01:36 PM

yeh the air is still blowing, i can hear it. And there is cold air coming out...but only next to the windshield and the side vents on the door. No matter which button i push, it still only comes out those vents. Basically its stuck in defrost. I also already checked all the tubes.

So yeh...i think its the butterfly flaps that are stuck in the defrost mode.

JDM Lude · 04-19-2002, 01:45 PM

try turning the heat on high for a long time, then switch it. if that doesn't work, try turning the A/C on full blast for a while and then switch it. maybe the expanding & contracting will dislodge it.

red92s · 04-19-2002, 02:34 PM

you sure teh vents are open?

HondaPimp98 · 04-19-2002, 03:43 PM

its prolly the buttefly valves since they are electronically controlled. sorry but i dont know how to fix it though.

~David

G_Loc · 04-19-2002, 10:01 PM

thats happened to me more than once. i just pressed all the buttons and eventually it began working right.

debo · 04-19-2002, 10:44 PM

bump,

I know someone that has this problem too. Would like to know why it does this.

H23Lude · 04-20-2002, 12:11 AM

ok...now its workin again. I guess it does just get stuck once in a while.

so i'm not the only one huh??

orangecrush · 04-20-2002, 09:11 PM

i had this same problem a while back...so what i did was go to the junkyard and yank the hvac control out and swap out the unit. it worked fine after that...but the cable that controls the air mix is a ***** if you forget the one nut that holds it on like i did. it works great now except the defrost and a/c buttons don't light up. i'm pretty sure it's the bulbs but i'm too lazy to tear it all apart again

prelude2005 · 04-20-2002, 09:34 PM

yea, i had the problem only once...but i drove it really fast and put the air on HIGH...and it opened up....no probs after that...lol

Swordfish · 04-21-2002, 10:23 PM

If you turn down your music and (normally) you can hear a slight motor working the flaps in there or whatever that turns blocks some vents and opens others.. Maybe the motor for that is broken.

S/F

si4u2nv · 04-22-2002, 08:48 AM

I have the same problem, and i have gone through 3 of the HVAC's i had my stock one, a j/y one and another one that i stole out of a friends car.. all of them were defective. it is something that the 4th gens do. its not the flaps its the buttons on the actuall unit. I had to pay someone like $80.00 to figure it out. they retraced my entire electrical system. i asked honda if you could get just the buttons and they said no, you have to buy the whole unit, but you are looking about $400.00 for that. I have heard good things about the JDM one, except its a beech install.

Hope that helped. if you find a cheap fix, let me know

generally if you turn the car on and then hit the button for the center vent before turning air on, it will change!!!

Good luck

Windwalker · 04-25-2002, 11:30 PM

golly and all this time I just figured my unit was freaky
oh wait my unit is freaky...

tranceporting · 04-26-2002, 04:10 AM

I have the same problem, middle vent isnt working but the ones on the doors are working fine....been like this since i bought the damn car

....BTW how do we refill the freon, coz my ac isnt working also

si4u2nv · 04-26-2002, 07:51 AM

Take it to a mechanic. They can re-fill it for you. the side vents should work almost all of the time. even if its on your feet and front window. if its anything like mine, you press the button, and nothing happens...

it SUX!!!!

The a/c button is next! you will push it and it will work for awhile, and then the green light will turn off, and you will stop getting cold air..... ITS THE SWITCH!!! I have put two different units in my car, and both do the same thing...... honda wants like $400.00 for a new one.

If you can get it wired, the JDM will be the best.

93si4ws · 04-26-2002, 08:19 AM

i had this, but it progressively got worse. as soon as you move the air direction selector past the first 2 it would get stuck. then later on the a/c switch would turn on when it wanted to. the later the defroster would go off when it wanted to and effect the a/c.

check my other post below. i opened up the unit and found the female socket on the pc board to be loose. small cracks around the connections contributing to an annoying intermittant problem. all i did was resolder the connections. the socket was noticeable more solid and ALL my problems were taken care of.

blah blah blah...i have a/c, and directions controls, etc all working perfectly.

intermittant a/c prob gone

v